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BY LAUREN ROTHMAN The term “organic agriculture” tends to evoke the image of a verdant, small-scale farm, its friendly, overalls-clad caretaker kneeling among his rows of leafy chard to individually pluck them of pests. A delicate and labor-intensive operation that might produce a handful of lovely CSA baskets, but probably won’t go far towards feeding large …Read More

By Jency Samuel, NAGAPATNAM, India, (IPS) – Standing amidst his lush green paddy fields in Nagapatnam, a coastal district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a farmer named Ramajayam remembers how a single wave changed his entire life. The simple farmer was one of thousands whose agricultural lands were destroyed by the 2004 Asian …Read More

by Farm Press Staff, Total organic product sales by U.S. farms and ranches showed substantial growth over the last few years, increasing 83 percent since 2007, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture. In January, NASS will launch its 2014 Organic Survey to gauge increasing organic interest among consumers, producers, and businesses. To learn more about …Read More

by Robert Ferris | @RobertoFerris, When it comes to groceries, “organic” and “sustainable” usually mean “expensive.” But the supposed productivity gaps between organic and conventional farming may be a lot smaller than thought—and organic farming may be especially competitive during droughts like the one currently crushing California’s massive agricultural sector. A new analysis of more than 100 …Read More

By Anna Lappe | Takepart.com, A few years ago, I was at a biotechnology trade meeting listening to a panel on GMOs. Throughout the two-hour session, the panelists all sang the praises of the technology—not too surprising at an industry event. At the time, the GMOs under commercial planting were limited to seeds genetically engineered …Read More

by Spencer Miller, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Oregon organic farmer David Brown didn’t start off growing 400-pound pumpkins, but every fall they hold a prominent place on Brown’s Mustard Seed Farms. Starting out as a 26-acre farm in Marion County, Oregon, Brown has grown his diverse, organic operation to 80-acres while also achieving large gains …Read More

By Tony Carton FREEPORT — There are no herbicides or pesticides used to grow vegetables at Chestnut Cliff Farm. It’s a strategy that’s worked well for the family farm for 60 years. Every summer, family members cultivate about five acres and sell their produce at farmers markets and to local restaurants and grocery stores and …Read More

by Gina-Marie Cheeseman, We are at a proverbial crossroads when it comes to climate change and avoiding its worst impacts. Total annual global greenhouse gas emissions need to drop to a net of 41 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) in order to have a chance of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Total annual global …Read More

via North Denver News Dear EarthTalk: Do you agree with the recent claim in the Wall Street Journal that organic agriculture isn’t actually sustainable?​– Chuck Romaniello, Pittsburgh, PA Dr. Henry I. Miller’s May 15, 2014 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal has indeed made waves in the organic farming community. Miller, former director of the Office of Biotechnology at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, …Read More

Via AgriNews WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A group from Purdue University will learn more about best practices for small farms at one of the oldest organic farms in Pennsylvania so they can develop programs to help start such operations across Indiana. The training in no-till organic systems, composting, soil health, nutrient management, integrating livestock in …Read More